Question: My questions is: Do we give money to the building called the church or do we give to those who have need? I am starting to wonder if the million dollar buildings the "church" is building is worth the money. Especially if the money could go to helping those in need.
Dan
Answer: Dear Dan,
The answer might not be "either/or" – but might be "both/and." It might become either/or for Christians when they decide that their congregation or denomination is simply in love with buildings and not with the gospel, and that their vision is not people, but things, land, buildings, etc. It happened of course at the Reformation, on a huge scale.
There are many mega churches today that are "seeker" churches – and the problem is that the very reason that some are attracted to them – entertaining pastor, great music, big crowd, a "happening" service, a big and well-known building that makes us proud to be a member, etc. – can become the very thing that turns believers off.
Your question gets at the very nature of the church. Organized churches have always presented challenges, yet the New Testament talks about community, one-ness and unity with other believers. The universal church, the body of Christ, however, encompasses all believers, whether they are part of a humanly organized group, organization or institution -- or not.
Every Christian, and every group of Christians – whether the congregation is 30 or 40 people, 300 or 400, or 3,000 or 4,000 must wrestle with the topic you raise – how nice does our building need to be? Do we need to own a building or lease one? How much of our outreach should be directed to social action and causes, missions work, and evangelism? And one thing is for sure – not all Christians will ever agree completely on these kinds of questions.
In Christ,
Greg Albrecht